The Ski Lodge
"Poor Bonnie." Tara smirked as the girls, accompanied by Mrs. Possible, watched their fellow cheerleader literally squirming in her seat as Mrs. Rockwaller continued telling stories of her youngest daughter's toddler years to the other cheerleaders and their boyfriends seated at the table with her.
"Couldn't happen to a nicer person." Hope chuckled evilly as she sipped her tea. Watching Ron and Zita skiing off together, the raven-haired cheerleader observed, "Looks like our boy's found himself someone."
"Yeah." Kim nodded her head, "I talked to Zita briefly after we got off the bus. Her and Ron have a lot in common. They both like video games and watching movies and they've got that whole Everlot thing going."
"I'm glad." Ann commented as she sipped her hot tea. "I have to admit, for a while, I was worried about him. Remember Halloween?" As the other females at the table nodded their heads, she continued, "Remember how hard he clung to trick or treating?"
Kim nodded her head, "I tried every trick in the book to get him to come to the haunted house—even The Pout." She shook her head, "Nothing worked. He was determined to go trick or treating."
"You know the reason why he keeps his subscriptions to Highlights and Jack and Jill up…don't you?" Kim's mother further recalled.
"Yeah, Mom." Kim averred as she sipped her tea.
The neurosurgeon concluded for the benefit of Tara and Hope. "He keeps those subscriptions because by doing so he's prolonging his childhood. Now….have either of you noticed any changes since he began playing that Everlot game?"
"Not at first." Kim replied, "But…once he met Zita in real life…" She nodded her head as Tara picked up the narrative.
"He's behaving a bit more like a teenage boy and less like a preteen." The British adventuress noted.
"He's not all the way there yet, though." Hope pointed out, "We had to remind him about his date with Zita."
"True." Tara nodded agreement, "He's still rather clueless, but this time, he took our advice. Not so long ago, he'd have gone along with Barkin."
"He probably still would have if we weren't here at the time." Ann noted.
"He has a ways to go." The blonde cheerleader conceded, "Still…he's with her now and not tramping about on a wild snowbeast chase with Mr. Barkin. That's a step in the right direction."
Beep…beep…beep
"We've got a problem." Wade announced to the women gathered at the table. "Let me show you the video recording.
As the recording played through, Ann, tapping her temple with her finger, remarked, "Those creatures look genetically engineered. I'd say by that woman." She said pointing to Amy. Then, her gaze falling on the pig-man and bird-man hauling the limp form of Mr. Barkin along with his equipment, she pointed out with a note of alarm in her voice, "She's also apparently been experimenting on human beings. I'd say Mr. Barkin is in a great deal of trouble."
"We better get out there, Kim." Tara prompted as the redhead nodded her head.
"Hope?" Wade called out from the Kimmunicator, pointing out the rabbit-rhinoceros, "You might want to bring Baby's big brother for this."
"Good idea." Hope nodded her head as she turned to the other girls, "Time to suit up."
"You're going to need me with you." Ann declared, forestalling the others' objections with a raised hand, "I might be a neurosurgery specialist, but I still possess more knowledge in genetics and biology than any of you."
"You're right, Mom." Kim reluctantly conceded, "Just please…"
"Don't worry, honey." Ann smiled down at her daughter, "I'll stay out of your way."
Ron and Zita on the slopes
"You're getting better, Zita." Ron said with a smile as he helped the brown-skinned girl up off the snow. "This time you made it down the slope before falling."
"Ha Ha Stoppable." Zita laughed good-naturedly as she brushed the snow off. Looking about the area, she asked, "Do you know where we are?"
"Hmmm…" Ron mused, "This looks familiar." Pausing for a moment, the blond youth soon recalled, "This is where we met that crazy lady!"
"What's that?" Zita exclaimed, pulling at Ron's sleeve while at the same time pointing at a shiny object on the ground.
"Don't know." Ron shook his head, "Let's check." Carefully approaching the object, the blond boy quickly recognized it as being Kim's communicator. "It's Kim's." Ron exclaimed, "I gave it to Mr. B. before he headed out to track down the snowbeast." Picking up the Kimmunicator, Ron pressed the activation button. Seeing Wade appear on the viewscreen, Ron queried, "Hey Wade. What's the sitch?"
"Mr. Barkin was taken prisoner by that Amy woman." Wade reported, "She had two…things…with her." The young genius warned, "She's also got a monster that's part rabbit and part rhinoceros."
"Yech!" Ron blanched as Zita shuddered at the picture that suddenly popped into her head.
"Right." Wade agreed. "The girls and Mrs. P. are on the way and they're bringing their stuff. If I were you, I'd find some place to lie low, activate the transponder, and let them come to you." Seeing that the blond sidekick was about to object, Wade pointed out, "I know what you're thinking, Ron. But remember you've got a civilian with you. You need to keep her safe. When Kim and the others arrive, we'll have a better chance of rescuing Mr. Barkin and getting to the bottom of whatever's happening here."
Glancing at the young woman standing next to him, Ron reluctantly agreed, "You're right, Wade. We'll wait behind those trees for the others. Tell them to hurry though."
"I will." Wade promised, further advising, "Keep an eye out for that monster. It looks like a thousand miles of bad road. Hope's bringing Baby's big brother to deal with it."
"If she's bringing Big Brother here, then that thing must be bad news." Ron concurred, "Baby's bad enough."
"Ummm…Ron…" Zita queried as her companion led her to the safety of the tree line. "Who or what is Baby and her big brother and what's going on here?"
"Let's get to cover and between me and Wade we'll fill you in on everything. Okay?"
"Okay." Zita nodded her head in agreement, "Let's move."
DNAmy's Lair
"Where am I?" Steve Barkin demanded as he quickly discovered that both he and Rufus had been tied up and were now in some sort of laboratory.
"This is my new genetic engineering lab." Amy replied, "I had to build a new one after they kicked me out of my old facilities at MIST—the meanies! Look over here…" She commanded as she pressed a button, causing a door to slide open, "This is my favorite room."
"Oh…my…God!" Barkin gasped as he laid eyes on row after row of Cuddle Buddies all in special display cases.
"Every Cuddle Buddy ever made." Amy proudly declared. "I collected them all. But it wasn't enough." She shook her head as she took a tray of cookies out of the oven, "Want one, Stevie?"
"No thanks." The ex-Marine shook his head as he realized that he was dealing with a madwoman.
"I wanted more." Amy explained, "I wanted to go where no Cuddler had gone before—living Cuddle Buddies!"
"That's a big step." Barkin declared, realizing that quite probably his life depended on him keeping the insane woman standing before him talking and distracted as long as possible.
"Not if you're one of the world's foremost genetic engineers." Amy responded with a scowl. "They said I was mad at MIST when they fired me. They called me crazy at Cuddle Con when I was removed as president."
"Lady…" Barkin shook his head, "If you give up now we can…I can…get you some help."
"You're just a meanie like all the others!" Amy spat out. Her lips turning up in a cold smile, she gestured for her two hench-beasts to place Barkin and Rufus in two cylindrical chambers. "Don't worry, Stevie. I can fix that problem. In a few minutes you'll be as cute and cuddly as my little lobster-doggie." After her unwilling test subjects were safely enclosed in the glass chambers, she pressed a button. Cackling madly, she waited until the lights on the both chambers had turned green. Smiling in satisfaction as her creation emerged from its cocoon, Amy turned to her creatures, "Patrol outside the lab. Bring back anything or anyone outside and set rabbitnoceros on guard."
Approaching her newest creation, she gave it a tickle under the chin, "And how's my cuddly-wuddly Ru-Stevie?"
The Lodge
"What's going on, honey?" James asked as he and the boys returned to the lodge while the girls were putting on the last of their arctic gear.
"Mr. Barkin's been taken prisoner by some woman named Amy…Amy Hill…"
"Dr. Amy Hill?" James exclaimed, "Geneticist?"
"I guess so." Ann replied, "Do you know who she is?"
"Black hair…a little pudgy…always talks about Cuddle Buddies?" James inquired.
"That's her." Kim affirmed as she zipped up her coat.
"How well do you know her, Mr. Possible?" Tara asked as she put on her belt and checked her weapons.
"Only by reputation." James answered back as his daughter and her friends paid close attention. "She used to work at MIST studying genetics and gene splicing. It didn't take long until everyone started calling her DNAmy. If she'd just kept her experiments at the computer simulation level or even experimenting on lower animals like rats and frogs she would have been okay, but she wanted to extend her research to human test subjects and when refused permission threatened to do so anyway…"
"She crossed a line." Tara concluded.
"Right." James nodded his head. "She was dismissed from her position and ostracized by the scientific community."
"So…" Kim postulated, "She's looking for revenge."
"I don't know." James responded, "Could be. She was never really dangerous in the past, but if she's using human subjects…" Opening the newspaper, he pointed to an article and photograph in the news section and then to the frozen image of the pig-man and bird-man on Tara's Kimmunicator. "That would explain what happened to those kidnapped hikers."
"Do you think they could be changed back to normal, Drs. Possible?" Hope asked, speaking to both of the Possible parents.
"I don't see why not." James replied, "It would just be a matter of resequencing the DNA properly. What do you think, Dear?"
"It should be possible." Ann agreed and then suggested to the girls, "I know you probably don't want to hear this, but I think that we both should go with you. We'll stay out of your way, but if we're going to bring those poor people…and possibly Mr. Barkin and who knows who else back, you're going to need the two of us. Between my knowledge of medicine and biology…"
"And mine of physics and engineering…" James chimed in.
"You'll have a much better chance than without us." Ann concluded, allowing her daughter and her friends to make the final decision.
"They're right, you know." Tara declared, advocating for the Possible parents. "We'll probably need them."
"And I've seen your Dad in a fight." Hope grinned, "I'd let him watch my back anytime."
"Thanks, Hope." James smiled at the dark-haired cheerleader.
"Okay…Mom…Dad…you're in." Kim decided, "Just…be careful."
"You'll want us too, lyubovniki." Sergei declared as Josh nodded his head in agreement, "Oh…not to go into the fight…" He demurred, forestalling the girls' objections, "But to help carry your gear and to remain as a reserve. Do not forget…you must always play for position and a rook or two on an open file can be decisive in the end game."
"We've also got our special sled in case we need a fast getaway." Josh noted as he pointed to the modified sled
"Good point, Sergei...Josh." Tara nodded her head, "All right, you're in. Let's get going before the entire sophomore class decides to join us."
Zita and Ron
"Aww crap!" Ron sighed as he pointed to the pig-man and bird-man walking towards where he and Zita were hidden. "They must have seen or heard something."
Grabbing the boy beside her by his hand, Zita tugged on it. "Come on…we need to run."
"They'll catch us." Ron shook his head as the two mutations, joined by a dog-lobster sniffing the air and barking, picked up their pace to a trot. Taking the Kimmunicator they had found, Ron punched in a number sequence and then handed the device to the brown-skinned girl next to him. "Here. See the moving dot?" As Zita nodded her head, Ron continued, "It's a tracking signal from Tara's Kimmunicator. She's getting a similar signal from us. I'm going to break out of the tree line and distract those bad guys. Wait until they're chasing me and then take off for Tara and the others. Tell them me, Mr. Barkin, and Rufus are in trouble and that there's a secret lair over there." He quickly entered in another set of coordinates. "Tell them to hurry!"
"Ron…" Zita gazed into the young man's eyes, her eyes watering, "I can't…."
Smiling at the girl standing before him, Ron declared in a reassuring tone, "Being the distraction is part of my job description and I'm very good at it. Just ask Kim. Now…GO!"
Pulling Ron to her, Zita gave him a hard and passionate kiss on the lips. "Come back to me if you want more!"
"Ummm…I promise…" Ron stammered, "I'm gonna come back." Taking a deep breath, the young man burst out of the tree line shouting "LEEROY JENKINS!" at the top of his lungs.
"You better." Zita whispered as she wiped the tears from her eyes and then, once she had seen that the creatures were now fully committed to chasing down their madly running and dodging quarry, took off at run in search of help.
The Rescue Party
"We've got someone coming towards us." Tara announced as she showed Kim and Hope the blinking signal on her communicator.
"Could be Mr. Barkin." Kim advised.
"Probably." Hope replied as she took out her binoculars and scanned the area where the blip was moving. "Nope. It's not Mr. Barkin. It's Zita!"
"Something must have happened to Ron." Kim exclaimed. "We need to find out what's going on."
"No one following her." Hope reported as Kim and Tara waved the brown-skinned young woman towards them.
Out of breath, Zita stumbled as she reached the rescue party. The teenager gasped, pointing in the direction she had come from, "Ron…He…"
"What about Ron?" Kim asked with a worried look on her face, "Is he all right?"
"I…I don't know." Zita replied as she gratefully sipped from a thermos of hot chocolate handed to her by Mrs. Possible. "Those two…things…one of them was a man with a pig's head and the other a man with a bird's head…"
"Damn." James muttered, shaking his head, "Amy actually went through with it. She spliced human DNA with animal." A determined look on his face, the rocket scientist declared in a clear voice, "We have to stop her."
"Can you show us where her hideout is, luv?" Tara asked the still trembling Zita.
"Yeah." Zita responded, shaking her head, "But we have to hurry. What if that crazy woman does to Ron what she did to those poor people?"
"Let's get a move on so we can make sure that doesn't happen." Hope growled as the rescue party once again set out to the mad scientist's lair. Arriving at the lair, the group found the giant rabbitnoceros guarding the entrance. "Good thing we took Wade's advice and brought Big Brother." Hope declared as she opened a long metal suitcase and took out a VKS 12.7 mm caliber silenced sniper rifle.
"Dermo!" Sergei gasped as he saw the Russian made weapon. "I've seen pictures of those…" He said admiringly, "But this is the first time I've ever seen one up close."
"It shoots as sweet as it looks and doesn't make a sound. If you want, we'll go out on the range when we get back and I'll let you fire it, honeybuns." Hope grinned as she chambered a round and then dropped into a prone firing position.
"Da!" Sergei replied with a big grin on his face, "Spasibo lyubov."
Taking out her binoculars, Tara acted as spotter. "Adjust the windage by two clicks, sweetie." After her friend had made the necessary adjustments, Tara whispered, "Take the shot."
Sighting in on her target, Hope squeezed the trigger and fired, hitting the giant monstrosity in the head, bringing it down without a sound. "Okay…" She said as she handed the rifle back to Sergei who then carefully put it back in its case, "Time for us to get up close."
"Ready when you are Kim." Tara declared.
"Don't worry, Kimmie-cub." James promised, "Your Mom and I will stay behind you and out of your way."
"Okay." Kim took a deep breath. "Let's do this."
DNAmy's Lair
"What did you do to them?" Ron, mouth agape and eyes wide open gasped at the horror that was Ru-Stevie. "How could you do such a horrible thing to Rufus? What has he ever done to you? What sort of monster are you?"
"That's what they said about me at MIST when all I wanted was living Cuddle Buddies." DNAmy lamented, "You're just like them. A meanie. But I can fix that too." Pushing a button, she revealed a monkey trapped in one of the cylindrical tubes. "I've always wanted a Ronkey"
A cold shiver running up and down his spine, Ron squeaked in a high-pitched voice, "That's just evil."
Pointing to the empty tube, Amy ordered her hench-beasts, "Put him in."
Just as they were about to grapple the young man by his arms to drag him to the tube, the lab shook with an explosion. "Someone's breaking into the lab!" Amy shouted, "Stop them! Moments later, the mad geneticist heard the sound of gunfire. "No…No…No…Not my babies!" Turning to Ron, she growled, "Your friends are evil! They're worse than meanies…they're stinky murdering meanies!"
Outside the Lab
"Reinforcements." Sergei called out, picking up a pistol as several genetic monstrosities emerged from the woods to converge on the lab. "If they hit our lyubovniki from behind…"
"We can't let that happen." Josh agreed as he picked up the other pistol.
"You're not leaving me here by myself." Zita declared as she grabbed a baseball bat.
"What are we waiting for?" Sergei shouted as the three teenagers rushed to the lab where they met the Possible parents hiding near the entrance.
"We thought we were goners." James said as he let out a breath of air.
"We dug into the snow and prayed for our lives." Ann sighed as she brushed the snow off her.
"We need to get moving." James growled, "Kimmie-cub and the others…"
"Da." Sergei nodded his head, "We go."
Inside the Lab
Bursting into the lab, Kim and the Dirty Pair at once noticed a bound Ron standing between a pig-man and a bird-man. "We've got to be careful." Kim whispered to her friends, "Those two must be the two missing hikers. We can't kill them."
"Don't harm Ru-Stevie either!" Ron shouted, drawing the girls' attention to the genetically spliced combination of Rufus and Mr. Barkin.
"That's just wrong." Tara rolled her eyes.
"Lady…" Hope jibed, "You are one twisted motherfucker."
DNAmy, now apparently completely insane, gibbered, "You…you….stinkers! You murdered my babies! Kill them!"
Evading the pig-man, Hope drew her taser and fired, the electric shock stunning the creature. Dodging to the side, Tara barely avoided a claw sweep from the bird-man as she tossed a pair of sedative-coated shuriken at it, hitting the creature in the leg and arm.
"Shit!" Kim shouted as she barely dodged a large desk thrown at her by Ru-Stevie only to be caught in the coils of a catsnake.
Ducking into a panic room, Amy pressed a button closing the door and then a second button revealing gun turrets.
"Fuck!" Tara and Hope shouted simultaneously as they dived for cover, gritting their teeth as the bullets just missed the two unconscious mutations.
Frightened by the sound of gunfire, Ru-Stevie panicked, running deeper into the lab, roaring as he fled.
"Kim!" Tara shouted as she drew her knife and tossed it to her friend.
"Thanks!" Kim replied as she picked up the knife and stabbed the catsnake, causing it to release her with a howl of agony.
Hearing the sound of footsteps and skittering on the hard floor, Hope grimaced, "Fuck. Reinforcements. We're not letting crazy lady catch us—right?"
"Right." Kim, Tara, and Ron both replied simultaneously as Hope, after cutting him free from his bonds, handed Ron her knife.
"Ready, luvs?" Tara took a deep breath as she grasped a throwing knife in her hands.
"Ready!"
Just as the footsteps reached the entrance, the teenagers heard the sound of gunfire and wild screams of agony. Moments later, they heard a Russian voice call out to them. "Lyubovniki! Kim! Ron! Are you all right?"
"We're fine!" Tara called back, "But don't come in…there are remote controlled gun turrets. Barmy girl's in a panic room."
"Kimmie-cub? Hope? Ronald?" James called out, "You all right."
"We're fine Dad." Kim shouted, "But we need to find some way to knock out those turrets."
"What about Wade?" Mrs. Possible asked as she and her husband barely dodged a fusillade of bullets from one of the turrets.
"Sorry, Mrs. P." Wade responded through the Kimmunicator Zita still possessed, "She's got those turrets hardwired. I can't hack into them."
"Amy was a genius." James commented, "Crazy, but a genius."
Ron, cringing behind a metal table between Kim and Tara looked up momentarily, quickly scanning the room with his eyes as he did so. Spotting a blinking instrument panel, something happened in his mind as what seemed like the pieces of a puzzle just clicked into place. Ducking to avoid a burst of gunfire, the blond youth again poked his head up, this time, he spotting two conduits coming from a console leading to the turrets. "There!" He shouted, pointing to the blinking panel. "That's what's controlling the turrets. Those conduits must hold the wires leading to the guns."
"He could be right." Hope shouted as she dived for cover. "We got nothing to lose by trying."
"Okay." Tara took a deep breath. "Everyone with guns, shoot at that instrument panel and keep firing until it's a pile of junk."
"Right!" Hope shouted as she, Josh, and Sergei emptied their clips into the instrument panel, rendering it into a smoking ruin while simultaneously silencing the turrets.
"Might as well come out, DNAmy." Kim yelled, "You're critters are either dead or knocked out and we've shut down your turrets."
"I've got enough food and water to last for months." Amy cackled. "The only way you're getting through is by blowing up the entire lab and if you do that, then you kill Ru-Stevie and all my other subjects."
"There are more?" Kim queried as she eyed the Pandaroo in the display case along with the mad scientist's other Cuddle Buddies.
"Oh yes." Amy replied. "Both human and animal. I'll release them to you on the promise that you leave immediately afterwards. Double cross me and I'll stay in here and you'll never get your friends or those others back."
"I've got another proposal." Kim's lips turned up in an evil grin as she walked towards the display exhibit and took the Pandaroo out of its case. Walking by Tara and Hope, she requested, "Can you two safely tranquilize Ru-Stevie?"
"Yeah." Tara nodded her head, at once picking up on the redhead's intent, "We'll get him, luv." Motioning for her best friend and Sergei and Josh to join her, she called out, "Right then, we've got retrieval duty, darlings."
"Mom…Dad…" Kim asked, "Can you figure out how her machine works?"
Carefully examining the complex machinery, the neurosurgeon and rocket scientist both nodded their heads. "Yes, Dear." Ann replied. "We need to get whoever or whatever's been spliced into the first cylinder. Then we just reverse the procedure used to splice them to reconstitute their DNA into the proper hosts."
"We can get started while you deal with Amy." James proposed as Kim nodded her head.
"DNAmy?" Kim said as she held up the Pandaroo so that the mad scientist could see it and then held her knife next to the stuffed animal's throat, smirking as she noticed the look of panic on the frumpy woman's face. "Here's my deal. You open that door and give yourself up and I won't cut this little Cuddle Buddy's head off and empty out all its stuffing on to the floor."
"You …you wouldn't!" Amy sobbed, "You're a fellow Cuddler! It's against the Cuddle Buddies' Code to harm a Buddy!"
"You already violated that code when you turned those poor people into monsters." Kim shouted as her mother activated the machine. "Right now, you better pray that my Mom and Dad are right and the process is reversible because if it isn't…" She pressed the point on to the neck of the Pandaroo, almost, but not quite, breaking through. "So…do you give up or do I cut?"
"I give up." Amy moaned as she opened the door and exited the panic room. Moving quickly, Kim bound the mad scientist using plastic cuffs as a human male emerged from the cylinder.
Stumbling forward a few paces, the man collapsed weeping on to the floor as Zita rushed forward to comfort him. "Take him over there…" Kim instructed the brown-skinned teenager in a gentle voice. "Give him some water or hot chocolate or whatever he needs." She pleaded as she turned to her parents who were now putting the bird-man into the cylinder.
"How long will it take Mom…Dad?"
"It'll take as long as it needs to, honey." Mrs. Possible responded.
"We don't want to rush this, Kimmie-cub." James added.
"I know." Kim sighed as Josh and Sergei carrying an unconscious Ru-Stevie between them, were followed by Tara and Hope who were escorting a young couple.
"We found them in cages in the back." Tara explained. "I think Ms. Frankenstein was waiting for more animal test subjects before doing to them what she did to those two Zita's taking care of and to Mr. Barkin and Rufus."
Once Rufus and Barkin were finally separated, Kim gestured towards the exit. "Time for us to go." She declared as the teenagers, along with the Possible parents, escorted the released prisoners and their prisoner out of the lab.
Upon seeing the dead rabbitnoceros lying at the entrance to the laboratory, Amy wailed, "Murderers! You killed my baby!" Turning hard eyes on the Possibles and the other teenagers, the mad scientist vowed, "If it's the last thing I do, I will get my revenge on all of you for killing my babies!"
"The authorities are on their way." Kim reported in a soft voice as she approached Mr. Barkin. "How are you doing, Sir?"
"Ms. Possible…Ms. Rossi…Ms. King…" The ex-Marine special ops veteran, still shaken by his recent experience, growled in a courageous effort to maintain a stoic front, "I know that between the three of you, you have at least one and probably three flasks containing contraband alcohol and at least one nicotine delivery device and a flame delivery system. I and the adult Possibles are going to close our eyes and I am going to count to five. By the time I finish counting, I expect one flask in one hand and a lit nicotine delivery device in the other. As he closed his eyes, the Possible parents closed theirs as well. "One…Two…" By the time he counted five and opened his eyes, he found a flask in his left hand and a lit cigarette in his right between his fingers. After taking a draw from the cigarette and exhaling, he took a hearty swig from the flask. "That's good tequila." He sighed as he replaced the cap on the flask and, while handing it to Tara, gave Kim a conspiratorial wink.
Approaching Ron and Zita, Kim gave her best friend a warm smile as a pair of helicopters bearing Park and Wildlife Authority markings on them landed a safe distance away. "How did you figure out how to knock out those turrets, Ron?"
"I don't know." The blond sidekick replied as the girl standing next to him squeezed his hand. "It just seemed like the right thing to do. It was like…you know when you're putting together a puzzle and then…all of a sudden…everything clicks into place."
"Yeah." Kim nodded her head.
"Well…that's what it felt like to me." Ron declared, shrugging his shoulders, "It was just a lucky guess."
"Maybe." Kim smiled, "Or maybe you're a very clever friend who came through in the clinch—again." Letting out a breath of air as a news helicopter landed, Kim grumbled, "Now to make sure those dumbasses in the media know that. Wish me luck."
"She's a good friend." Zita remarked as the couple watched Kim talking with the press and the police.
"My best friend." Ron replied with a smile.
"Your girlfriend?" Zita asked with a quiver to her voice.
"No." Ron shook his head as he squeezed Zita's hand, "Definitely not my girlfriend. I'm hoping someone else would like to be that. You know anyone who would?"
"I can think of someone who might be interested in the job." Zita smiled shyly.
The Lodge
After everyone had returned to the lodge, loose ends tied up, and everyone had the opportunity to rest for a bit, Kim, accompanied by her boyfriend, and the Dirty Pair with their boyfriend, approached Ron who was currently talking with Zita and Mr. and Mrs. Possible. Smiling, the lovely redhead held out a giftwrapped box with a bow tied around it.
"This is for you, Ron. It's a little something from the three of us and Wade."
A wide toothy grin appearing on his lips, Ron exclaimed as he tore the wrapping paper, "For me?" Opening the box, his grin grew even wider, "Wow! A Kimmunicator of my own!"
"You've more than earned it, Ron." Kim smiled as her best friend examined the device in his hands.
"Kim's right." Wade declared as his image appeared on the screen. "Her and the Dirty Pair talked to me and I rushed this one over to you as fast as I could."
"Thank you." Ron said in a soft, sincere, voice. "You have no idea what this means to me."
Hugging Ron close to her, Kim kissed him on the cheek. "Ron. You're my best friend and my partner. Not my sidekick. I keep saying this because it's the truth. I couldn't do what I do without you with me. Our family motto is anything's possible for a Possible." Turning and smiling at everyone gathered around her, she declared in a heartfelt tone, "I think the motto should be anything's possible for a Possible with loving and caring family and friends. Thank you, Ron Stoppable, for being my friend."
Smiling back at the lovely young woman standing before him shedding tears of joy, Ron declared, "Thank you, KP, for being my best friend."
"So…" Tara's lips turned up in a wicked grin as she lit a cigarette and inhaled, "Who's for soaking in the hot tub tonight after dinner?"
"Ron and I are gonna have to take a pass, I'm afraid." Zita smiled.
"Yeah." Ron agreed as he squeezed the hand of the lovely teenager standing next to him. "We're joining Oscar and Cindy for some late night stargazing. But you all have fun."
"Hey boys!" James called out, at once getting the attention of Josh, Sergei, and Ron. "You wanna try out the suped-up sled?"
"Yeah!" The sound of three teenage boys cheering filled the air as their girlfriends and Ann giggled uncontrollably.
"Go ahead, boys." Tara quipped, "Have fun."
"Just don't get hurt!" Zita cautioned with a laugh.
"Go on, Josh! Have fun." Kim laughed as she granted her boyfriend permission to play with the other boys.
"Like I said…" Ann grinned as the males departed laughing and joking among themselves, "Boys will be boys."
Hope added to the older woman's proclamation with a wry grin that brought laughter to the other females, "I wouldn't have it any other way."
"So…where are the 'rents, Kim?" Hope, wearing her bikini, asked as she luxuriated in the hot tub next to Sergei who was relaxing next to Tara, also clad in a skimpy bikini.
"They decided to go out for dinner and some late night dancing in the main lodge." Kim, like the other girls, wearing a teensy-weensy bikini, responded with a chuckle as Josh playfully tickled her. She further added in a meaningful tone, "Mom also made a point of saying that they would be back at midnight."
Leering at Sergei, Tara removed her top, "So…what are we waiting for?"
"Not a thing." Hope declared as she removed her top and gave Sergei a deep kiss.
Taking off her top, Kim demurely whispered to her boyfriend, "You like what you see? You know…you can do more than just look at them if you want."
Josh, his hands now wandering over previously barred terrain, whispered back, "Love 'em."
"Mmmm…" Kim moaned as she felt her boyfriend's mouth on a very sensitive, formerly forbidden, spot, "…right answer."
"So…it's like this all the time you're off with Kim on a mission?" Zita asked as she and Ron walked hand-in-hand down a small path near the lodge.
"Well…there's almost always a lot of running and you have to have the mad scientist or lunatic out to take over the world…but…yeah…." Ron chuckled, "…today was pretty much the norm for us."
"I thought what you did was very brave." Zita declared as the couple came to a stop in a secluded enclave. "Running out there like that and distracting those monsters so that I could escape."
"Just part of the job." Ron replied modestly as he shuffled his feet.
"Well…I still think it's brave." Zita declared as she gave the blond boy a kiss. "Yep."
"Yep…what?" Ron inquired as his heart began to beat faster.
"Oh…I was just checking to see whether I really liked it or not after I kissed you the first time." She smiled, "I did. Sooooo…did you like it?"
Drawing closer to the brown-skinned girl, Ron gave her long, tender kiss. "Yeah." He whispered, "I did. A lot."
"Then…" Zita gasped as she embraced the young man standing with her, "I think you should do it again...and again…and again."
"You sure it's good idea leaving the kids alone like this?" James asked as he and his wife walked alongside Mrs. Rockwaller as they made their way to the main lodge for dinner and a night of dancing and conversation.
"They'll be fine, James." Ann replied in a reassuring tone of voice, "One or both of us have been around them the entire trip. They deserve a couple of hours to themselves." Changing the subject, she asked the other woman walking with them, "So…Debbie…how are you and Bonnie getting along?"
"It was tough at first." Mrs. Rockwaller admitted, "I could see that she didn't want me here the moment I saw her face when the bus arrived at the lodge. But we had a chance to talk this afternoon while you and James and your kids had your adventure and it gave us a chance to clear the air somewhat." Shaking her head, the dark-haired woman moaned, "While I knew Bonnie had problems with her sisters, I never knew they're hurting her as bad as they are—she never talks to anyone about it."
"How did you find out?" James inquired.
"Her friend…Monique…" Debbie Rockwaller smiled, "She came to me while Bonnie was off skiing with Brick and told me everything. I had to be careful to make sure Bon-Bon didn't find out that Monique had told me." Letting out a breath of air, Mrs. Rockwaller remarked somberly, "Monique is the first really close friend Bonnie's had since pre-K and I don't want to do anything to endanger that friendship."
"What happened to Bonnie at pre-K to cause her to put up all these walls?" Ann queried.
"I don't know. She won't tell me." Debbie shook her head, "All I know was that one day Bonnie came home crying and ever since she's closed herself off. Of course…Connie and Lonnie's treatment of her hasn't helped matters any." Her lips turning up in a warm smile, the worried mother declared, "Monique's been good for Bonnie."
"We know what you mean." Ann laughed, "Believe it or not, Tara and Hope have been very good for Kim…"
"Really?" Mrs. Rockwaller arched an eyebrow, "Pardon me for saying so, but from everything I've been hearing, aren't they a bit…wild?"
"I'll admit they can get a little too…down to earth…for my tastes." James confessed, "And I'm not going to lie and say that I think their influence hasn't been all good…Kim's language has gotten a lot more colorful of late and there are a few other things." Taking a deep breath, the rocket scientist forced himself to admit, "But…on the plus side, she's expanded her social circle a lot…"
"And they give her a sounding board that she can feel safe confiding in." Ann interjected.
"Kind of like Bonnie now has with Monique." Debbie Rockwaller nodded her head sagely.
"Right." Ann agreed. "Kim needed that. Also…I think the whole deal of who's influencing who is sort of balanced out by Kim being a good influence on Tara and Hope. Her optimistic and positive outlook can be contagious and I think Hope and Tara have picked up on some of that.
"I'd have to second that." James replied, "Also…they've been very helpful to Kim in dealing with a few crises. I'll have to be honest…" He reluctantly admitted, "I don't think I'd have been much help in dealing with either of those issues."
"One issue in particular…" Ann somberly noted. Seeing the questioning look on the other mother's face, Ann demurred, "I wish I could talk to you about it, but it was one of those missions Kim occasionally goes on that gets classified. What I can say is that I was glad she had Tara and Hope there to help her work through it afterwards."
"I just wish…" Debbie shook her head, "I just wish I could get Bonnie to let me help her through some of the stuff she's dealing with. I'm at my wits end with Connie and Lonnie." The harried mother confessed, "They're both going to college and should be focusing on careers and maybe marriage, but they behave like they're still in high school. Part of it is Jack's fault—they're Daddy's Little Girls and he gives them anything they want while practically ignoring Bonnie. Part of it is mine for letting it go on for too long; and part of it is theirs for behaving that way. Now, I need to figure out a way to deal with the situation without it completely blowing up."
"Well…Debbie…" Ann commiserated, "For what it's worth, good luck. I know it can't be easy."
"Yeah, Debbie." James agreed, adding, "But you know, sometimes, the only way to deal with a situation is to force the issue."
"I know." Mrs. Rockwaller sighed as the adults entered the main lodge, "And I will if I have to. I'm just hoping it won't come to that."
Epilogue: The Kitty-Kat Club after the ski trip
"Hey girls." Zoe frowned as Hope and Tara entered the nightclub. "He's over there." She said, pointing to a table where a subdued Mr. Barkin was sitting nursing a drink. "He came in here a couple of hours ago, ordered a scotch and soda, went to that table and hasn't done anything but sit there."
Tara inquired as she lit a cigarette, "He's not causing any trouble, is he?"
"No." Zoe shook her head as the three girls made their way to the bar. "It's just not like him—you know what I mean? He doesn't behave this way when he's here." Zoe declared as Max poured the girls their favorite drinks.
"Talking about Barky?" The bartender inquired as he inclined his head towards the solitary figure at the table.
"Yeah." Zoe responded as she joined her friends at the bar. "Normally Steve comes in, has a drink and talks shop with Max…"
The bartender nodded his head, "We go way back to when he was a sergeant in the Marines—before he got his Distinguished Service Medal and went to OCS and got his commission."
"Right." Zoe interjected, "Anyway, he has a drink or two, talks with Max and then catches mine or Clea's show. He'll flirt a little with both of us—it's just harmless fun, although I think he's interested in Clea, and…" She lowered her voice, "Keep this to yourselves, Clea told me the interest is mutual." Pausing to light a cigarette, the exotic dancer remarked, "He's always kept a low profile, but…he's never come here depressed like this. Do you think this has something to do with what happened to him at that ski lodge?"
"Yeah." Hope nodded her head, "Remember us telling you about what happened at Wannaweep?"
Nodding her head, Zoe acknowledged, "Yeah." Then, putting the pieces together, the lovely Asian dancer cursed, "Shit! This is the second time in just a few months that someone's messed with him and changed him—isn't it?"
"Yeah." Hope nodded her head, "I remember when he mutated at Wannaweep it shook him up real bad. And then…like you said, just a few months later…a mad scientist does it to him again by combining him with a naked mole-rat."
"That'd mess with anyone's head." Max commented with a sigh. "Even someone with as tough a hide as Barky."
"Tell me about it." Zoe let out a breath of air. "No wonder he's screwed up. He needs to see a shrink."
"We can't just go up and tell him that to his face. If we do that, he'll never go." Tara declared as she exhaled a plume of smoke. "He's got to think it's his idea."
"You wanna go talk to him, bestie?" Hope inquired, "Maybe we can put a bug in his ear?"
"Worth a try." Tara replied. "We need to get our Barkin back."
"Good luck." Zoe exclaimed, "Let me and Max know if we can help."
"Hey, Mr. B…Steve." Tara said in a low voice as she and Hope sat down at the table with their teacher. "Looks like we've finally managed to run into each other here."
"Yeah." Barkin murmured as he took a sip of his drink. "Why are you here instead of in the casino or watching the strippers?"
"Just checking in with Max to see if there were any jobs available." Hope replied with a smile, "If we get a lead, you want us to cut you in for a piece of the action?"
Looking momentarily tempted, the former special operations specialist shook his head, "Nah. Those days are long over for me." Looking up, his lips turned up in a sad smile as he regarded Tara. "Did your grandmother ever tell you we worked together once?"
"No." Tara exclaimed with a surprised look on her face. "She never did."
"Don't be upset at her." Steve pleaded, "It's probably still classified and she might not even remember. I doubt she knows who I am. It wasn't just me anyway. My unit was assigned to assist her and her partner…some guy who wore a bowler hat…"
"That would be Uncle John." Tara smiled.
"Right." Barkin nodded his head, "Although I got the feeling the two of them weren't related…at least not by blood…the way they carried on with each other. By the time the op was over, me and at least half the unit had a crush on her—even though she was at least twenty years older than us at the time. She was that beautiful."
"Yeah." Tara grinned, "I've heard that she had that effect on men. So did Auntie Emma."
"I never worked with her." The burly substitute teacher said, "But I've heard plenty of stories about Emma Peel. From what I've heard, Ms. Possible is a lot like her."
"I'd say that's a fair comparison." Tara agreed, "From what I've been told of Auntie's earlier days, Kim does seem like a younger version of her."
"So…" Hope carefully ventured, "Why are you sitting here all by yourself instead of sitting at the show watching Zoe dance?"
"You know why." Barkin morosely responded, "I got changed into a thing…again! And just like the last time, I remember every stinking moment of it. Do you have any idea what that's like…to be bent out of shape…to be robbed of who you are by some lunatic for no other reason than because they can do it to you?"
"No." Tara replied honestly as she sipped her drink, "I can't say that I have, but I'm sure Betty's had an agent or two who has gone through something similar."
"Yeah." Hope nodded her head, "I'm sure GJ's dealt with shit like this more than once."
"Maybe." Steve nodded his head, "It's not like I'd be a seeing a shrink or anything like that. I'd just be talking with someone who's gone through the same thing."
"Right." Tara and Hope both agreed.
Finishing his drink, the gruff teacher stood up, "Thanks, girls. I'll give Betty a call tomorrow and see if she knows anyone who fits the bill. You two better get back home—I'm throwing a pop quiz in English tomorrow morning and I expect As from both of you. Got it?"
"Got it Mr. B." The girls, downing their drinks, rose to their feet and gave the ex-Marine a playful salute. "See you tomorrow!"
"Oh…" The substitute teacher called out as the pair walked away, "Tell Stoppable to make sure to come by my office tomorrow morning. I've got a pile of extra homework assignments for him to do to make up for all the work he missed last semester!"
A/N: As I said at the beginning of part one of this two parter, a Double Entendre twist—or two. This chapter sees Ron really beginning to mature as he steps up to the plate here—the scene where Kim and the others give him a Kimmunicator of his own was very much a rite of passage for him. He also finally gets the girl here—or does the girl get him? In any event, Ron takes a big step forward in this part. Oh, that's not to say that it will always be easy for him—or Kim or the others for that matter—but he's on his way. As for Kim, yes, she is growing up quick—quicker than her parents probably would want her to, but given the life she has chosen to lead, it was all but unavoidable. She's taken a life—more than one life—that changes you. Kim has seen with her own eyes just how fragile life can be and how easily it can be taken away and is beginning to adopt Tara and Hope's perspective that it is to be enjoyed while you can because tomorrow you could well be dead from a bullet to the head or some other grisly method of demise. Add to that her natural precocity, drive, and energy, and it's no surprise that she would be growing up quick. As always, I hope you are enjoying this story and please do feel free to leave your comments and reviews.